*By Alisha Haridasani*
A rare visit to the United States by a senior North Korean general may lay the groundwork for a renewed summit meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, a North Korea analyst said.
“It looks like the summit is going to go ahead,” said Martyn Williams, a journalist at IDG News Service. “Whether it happens on June 12 is going to be a logistical question.”
Trump said in a [tweet](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1001410457092218880) Tuesday that the general, Kim Yong-chol, was headed to New York for meetings “concerning Summit, and more.” The general would be the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit the U.S. in almost two decades.
He was expected to [meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo](https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/29/politics/north-korea-summit-pompeo/index.html) when he arrives later this week, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary said on Tuesday. The two men have met twice before in Pyongyang.
“The direct contact is very important," Williams said in an interview Tuesday with Cheddar. "It not just shows a sense of willingness on both sides to directly engage and directly talk about things, but it also allows the U.S. and North Korea to get a better feel for each other.”
The White House was taking its own steps to move negotiations for the summit forward. Trump administration officials were coordinating with their North Korean counterparts in Singapore, and in the demilitarized zone that separates North Korea from South Korean, Sanders said.
Trump will also meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan next month to [“continue close coordination”](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/readout-president-donald-j-trumps-call-prime-minister-shinzo-abe-japan-10/) with an essential American ally in the region.
General Kim is often referred to as the North Korean leader's right-hand man. “In fact, quite literally we’ve seen this year, in many of the meetings that Kim Jong-un has done, he has been sitting right to his right-hand side,” said Williams.
The general was at Kim Jong-un’s meetings with President Xi Jinping of China and meetings with the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in. General Kim used to lead North Korea’s intelligence service, which has been linked to the 2104 cyberattack on Sony Pictures.
“This is a man on the U.S. sanctions list,” said Williams. “Technically, he’s not allowed in the U.S.”
General Kim was put on a Department of Treasury sanctions list in 2010 and again in 2015, and is barred from entering the United States. He was in Beijing on Tuesday, likely waiting for a waiver and to confer with North Korea's Chinese allies.
The visit of a top North Korean general would be an undeniable sign that tensions between Washington and Pyongyang may have eased since last Thursday when Trump canceled the summit in Singapore. After [the president's letter](https://cheddar.com/videos/trump-cancels-north-korea-summit-leaving-its-fate-in-kim-jong-uns-hands) canceling the meeting, Kim Jong-un responded with an olive branch, saying he was willing to meet “at any time.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-historic-north-korea-summit-could-be-back-on).
Two murder trials in focus in America — Wisconsin V. Kyle Rittenhouse and Georgia V. Travis Mcmichael, Gregory Mcmichael, and William Bryan, the Men who killed Ahmaud Arbery. Civil rights and criminal defense lawyer Anthony Tall and the Founder and CEO of Kim Crowder consulting Kim Crowder, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D - Arizona) joined Cheddar to discuss the passing of President Biden's Infrastructure Bill and his new book, 'They Called us 'Lucky,' about his time serving in the Iraq War.
Markets were pointing mostly lower to end the week as investors reacted to the threat of a Covid resurgence in Europe. Jeff Schulze, Investment Strategist at ClearBridge Investments joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss Friday's pre-market activity.
A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit against financial services platform Robinhood following the meme stock saga that swept the investment world. The judge said it found no wrongdoing on Robinhood's part after the platform halted trading on popular meme stocks Gamestop and AMC.
Jill and Carlo are back to cover the latest in the Rittenhouse trial, new information on the origins of Covid, return-to-office and more.
JOIN US FOR THE YOUTUBE WATCH PARTY @ 9aET: http://www.youtube.com/cheddarnow
The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Uber after it was discovered that disabled people were being disproportionately affected by extra “wait time” fees. Attorney Jonathan Bell joined Cheddar to discuss.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has been accused by the EU of manufacturing a migration crisis along his border with Poland. But, even as tensions appear to be stabilizing at the moment, Ali Noorani, the president and CEO of National Immigration Forum and the host of the "Only in America" podcast spoke to Cheddar about the ongoing danger to the migrants who hail from countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. "What is going to happen to folks who are in Belarus who came from these countries? Is Lukashenko going to provide them asylum and protection in Belarus, or are they going to continue to be political pawns in a geopolitical battle," he said. "Real people's lives are being put at great risk."
A group of crypto investors has come together to raise millions of dollars in the hopes of owning a rare piece of the U.S. Constitution. According to the crypto group, "Constitution DAO" It is time to put the constitution in the hands of the people. CEO and Founder of Metaversal Yossi Hasson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Polarization is among the defining traits of American politics in the 21st century. Sometimes it seems like the only thing we can all agree on is the fact that we don't really agree on anything. But those divisions don't just stop at whether you vote red or blue.
A new survey from the Pew Research Center finds that rather than just two political buckets, we have nine. The "2021 political typology" as it's called distinguishes between different ideological subsets in the Democratic and Republican party. It encompasses everyone from the loudest revolutionary lefties, to the loudest insurrection apologists on the right.
Andrew Daniller, research associate at the Pew Research Center, joins None of the Above to discuss.
Tanya Snyder, transportation reporter at Politico, joins None of the Above with J.D. Durkin to discuss the bipartisan infrastructure law, what it means for the electric vehicle industry and whether Democrats will be able to capitalize on the legislative victory ahead of the 2022 midterms.
